The Barclays Run in Tennessee. On Netflix.

Any TDF highlights.

Forks over knives, Food Inc, Super size me, fat sock and nearly dead. Any diet and food related documentaries fascinate me.

Docos about injustice - e.g Thin Blue Line

Having a fuzzy morning so can’t think of all the favourites off the top of my head. 2 that stick out are; the 14 Peaks documentary with Nirmal Purja recently, and then an MTB documentary about Steve Peat was also great, Won’t Back Down maybe. Can’t think of many others right now, but there have been many.

There are some good fell running ones. The one about running the wainwrights in memory of Chris Stirling, and then one about Nicky Spinks with a double Bob Graham round after surviving cancer.

There's a documentary of how a young Arnold S. lost his father, was put to work on The Wheel of Pain to make him huge, and then tracked down his father's killer to then learn The Riddle of Steel and why it makes such great bike frames. I think it's called "Conan the Barbarian" or something like that.

Super League put out a nice Vincent Luis series. PTO did one on Lionel.

There are two high quality documentaries on Western States 100 on Youtube.

Can't go wrong with Breaking 2 tho.

Check out That Sugar Film [2014] from Australia

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Fire on the Track about Steve Prefontaine

Touch the Wall - swimming doc following Missy Franklin and Kara Lynn Joyce’s journey to make the 2012 olympics. Just wonderful stuff.

The Game Changers - shares stories of many plant-based elite athletes and how switching to that diet has changed them. It was the reason I went plant-based nearly three years ago (best decision I ever made) and rewatching it excites me all over again.

Definitely I will. Thank you!!

I find mountaineering and climbing docos and books motivating. One of my favourites is Bonington: Mountaineer.

I was fortunate to see it on the big screen and hear Chris Bonington speak afterwards.

It's about so much more than sport and endeavour, but also life, relationships and defying the expectations of growing older. A film filled with beauty, tragedy and spirit.

Bonington Mountaineer (boningtonfilm.com)

The two seasons of The Least Expected Day on Netflix were entertaining, in a Bravo/Housewives kinda way

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

14 Peaks was good, Nirmal has a ton of great quotes.

I really like The Alpinist on netflix.

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Interesting to see 14 peaks getting a lot of love. A lot of people in the mountaineering community view Nims 14 peaks project the way slowtwitch view iron cowboy X ironmans in X days projects.

Dawn wall is imo the best climbing documentary on Netflix. Free solo is also good. Zabardast is my favourite ski documentary - but more about adventure and awesome skiing than physical challenge (although there is some). The "south lines" ski films are also good, and for something a bit shorter some good YouTube channels like cham lines and Nikolai Schirmer.

The early climbing and polar expeditions are the best reads imo. Shackleton's disastrous Antarctica being particularly good. Annapurna by herzog is also good (although some suggestion it is a very bias/romanticised account - Herzog was the expedition leader).

Game changers is basically a propaganda film backed by little real science. Some of their claims are laughable i.e. beetroot juice increases bench press performance 19% - even if your beetroot juice is loaded with every anabolic drug under the sun you are not getting close to 19%.

I actually just watched the Tony hawk documentary "until the wheels fall off" which was a lot more inspiring than I expected.

There are a few good long distance cycle touring self made documentaries on YouTube.

1. Riding Giants (big wave surfing movie)

2. Miracle (on ice)- story of the 1984 US Olympic hockey team

3. Any 30 for 30, I especially liked the Bo Jackson one and obviously Michael Jordan

Blood Road with Rebecca Rusch is pretty amazing.

I like The Vegan Cyclist's "Impossible Route" videos on YouTube, particularly the one in Telluride. The scenery is spectacular!

Someone referenced ESPN's 30 for 30 series. "Slaying The Badger" is a favorite because I had just gotten into bike racing at that time.

For me, anything that shows great outdoor landscapes/scenery and has a swim, bike or run component to it, is easy to watch.

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Tad

It took awhile, but I finally discovered that its not the destination that's important, but rather the journey.

Lots of great suggestions, Miracle on Ice is a go to for me. Two YT channels that inspire me are (1) Billy Yang - I've seen "The Why" at least 20 times and (2) Ryan Van Duzer - just shows how to ride a bike, be a good human and enjoy the journey.

I Dream of Sushi 🍣

+ 1 for Ryan Van Duzer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3O3ooTtrV4

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"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10, and I don't know why!"

Don't know about "fire me up" but the flip side of "Miracle on Ice" is the documentary "Of Miracles and Men" which tells the story from the Soviet side and the after events of the loss at the Lake Placid games. Found it very well told and well worth a watch.

"Boston" is a great documentary movie!

Narrated by Matt Damon, it goes through the entire history of the race (some real cool stories in there), while also following the preparation for the 2014 race the year after the bombings, and then that 2014 race with Meb's historic win.

I personally love all the long YouTube videos from Billy Yang.
Western States 100 and others.
Super nice cinematography and narration.

Go find him on YouTube. You won’t regret it.

Senna

It's long but easily one of the best documentaries ever made I think.

On the F1 side, Rush also never fails to impress me. Great movie and while slightly dramatized, it was overseen by the real Nikki Lauda so it's pretty true to events.

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Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors

Icarus.

There was an excellent Shackleton doco showing on IMAX about 15 years ago. Has there ever been a greater story of survival against the odds?

As a flipside to Tony Hawk, check out All This Mayhem:
https://www.imdb.com/video/vi4031425561/?ref_=tt_vi_i_1


Not sure if inspiring is the right descriptor, but a compelling story all the same.

I actually like the bodybuilding ones (generation iron) on Netflix plus there’s a good one about Ronnie Coleman on YouTube.

Have you watched the fan made 'Silver war'? A dude made a pretty awesome documentary about Nico Rosberg vs Lewis Hamilton and the 2016 season. I think he also made a follow up origin story and how the relationship between Rosberg and Hamilton soured.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi - yes

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Ya can't go wrong with classic Warren Miller films either. Although they often DO look cheesy & dated, they're good for a laugh #whysoserious

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

There is a Canadian TV show from a few years ago called Boundless that I absolutely loved. A couple well known adventure athletes compete in random adventure/endurance races around the world. Everything from ultra marathons to stage ski races to all-night bike adventures. Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they fail miserably. But the show did a wonderful job showing the physical ability and heart that is needed to do these crazy races. It was a well-done show that really opened my eyes to the world beyond triathlon.

Ya can't go wrong with classic Warren Miller films either. Although they often DO look cheesy & dated, they're good for a laugh #whysoserious[/quote]
Most fun ski film ever is G.N.A.R.

Even though we all know nothing tragic happened in Free Solo, I still get sweaty palms just thinking about it

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Directed by Stacy Peralta - The Search for Animal Chin, Dogtown & Z-Boys

Bruce Brown's son made a surf movie called Step Into Liquid released about the same time as Riding Giants, and - honestly - it wasn't nearly as good

Jack Johnson started out making surf films; I can't remember which I discovered first, his movies or his music?

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

I agree and got the same impression from « The Alpinist » (now streaming on Netflix). What Andre Leclerc achieved in his short Mountaineering carrer is incredible.

I watched that on a long run on the treadmill - my HR shot up so much on his actual attempt watching it. Even though I knew nothing happened, it was adrenaline-pumping.

Probably more reality TV than doco but the Ironman series - was it called Road to Kona? - was inspiring for me. Most of the people really stood no chance of getting to Kona but there were some incredible stories of regular people giving it their all.

This is almost certainly a recipe for injury and/or burnout. IME, you need to approach your training a bit cautiously, increasing the miles very gradually, and increasing the frequency and length of your hard runs very gradually. If you swim and bike, you can increase these distances faster with less concern for injury (aside from bike crashes), but the run needs to be very carefully monitored.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Yup. Just insane.

If memory serves me right, someone from here at Slowtwitch was on that show

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Thanks for the reminder. I still haven't watched this.

I was supposed to run Boston in 2013 but had an injury that season. I ran Boston in 2014. It was a really special race. The whole city was so supportive of the runners. I would get Boston residents thanking me for coming to Boston to run it on the T (Boston's subway) and in restaurants. The camaraderie was really amazing between athletes and supporters. I personally didn't have a great run performance, but I remember having tears of joy when I learned Meb won. I really enjoyed the whole experience even if it wasn't my best run.

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Death is easy....peaceful. Life is harder.

I agree about the Billy Yang YouTube videos. I look forward to everyone of them. A few of my favorites are:

Mont Blanc
Western Time
Life in a Day

Also, Jeff Pellitier does good video content on YouTube about ultrarunning. He recently did a multipart series about a stage race in Namibia. It was enertaining.

If you have any interest in The Barkley Marathons, then check out the following:

Where Dreams Go to Die by The Ginger Runner
Out There by Karel Sabbe
The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats its Young

Someone already mentioned The Vegan Cyclist. His Impossible Route videos are great. Also, for pure entertainment purposes, watch his video where he decided to spontaneously do an ironman near his house. Also, his video of his Unbound Gravel (DK) race is interesting

For cycling, Adam Roberge is a Canadian (Queebec) pro who does videos about his races and training (mostly gravel). These are pretty good.

EF Cycling does a few videos of Lachlan Morton and Alex Lowe racing Leadville and Unbound.

There are a few really good Backyard Ultra ones from all around on YouTube as well

https://www.youtube.com/...kyard+ultra+marathon

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Next Goal Wins: American Samoa's grassroots national soccer team, with underdogs, a crazy maniac lovable manager, and a lot more.

Eyes on The Prize: PBS's documentary of the American Civil Rights era.

Google "Snooker 147" and watch the youtube videos that you find.

The Dawn Wall, about climbing and one hell of a biography.

Since so many folks like the climbing movies, I suggest Meru (about struggle and success) and Touching the Void (harrowing).


A couple of links:
Next Goal Wins (2014) - IMDb
Eyes on the Prize | PBS

So much great stuff! Blown away by this.

Watched Plan B: The Fall and Rise yesterday, about Jumbo-Visma's 2021 TDF

I forgot that they were down to just 4 guys at the end [Vingegaard, Wout, Sepp, and Mike Teunissen]

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

The Alpinist is a great movie - it just won the Emmy for best long documentary.

Icarus makes me feel Juiced... because my competitors were juiced and I now feel juiced to become a keyboard warrior.

Other movies that move me
GameChangers
any other diet related movie that makes my blood pressure rise 50mmHg


....maybe that's not what you meant by juiced...inspired....moved.... :)

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Dr. Alex Harrison | Founder & CEO | Sport Physiology & Performance PhD
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I think that Vincent Luis docu put a curse on him calling it 'unbeatable' was it? He's been everything else but since!

Similarly, Movistar pro team had two cycling seasons on Netflix too as a doco.

Watched Plan B this morning on the trainer. Definitely a good watch.

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Let food be thy medicine...

The Playbook on Netflix is a good documentary series, with interviews of coaching greats and their "coach's rules for life."

A Sunday in Hell. Cycling legends with a taste of 70's.
https://www.youtube.com/...TVU9JDrA&t=2055s

There's a docu-series on WSL.com about an old surfer who's still on the pro tour, somehow

Kelly, someone 😉

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Recently binged all episodes of "100 foot wave" season 1 on HBO... a great documentary about big wave surfing. Not sure if they will do season 2, I would love to see them keep trying.

I need to re-watch The Ride and Le Ride by Phil Keoghan [Amazing Race]

https://philkeoghan.com/the-ride/

https://philkeoghan.com/leride/

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

+1

A classic!

You want to talk about a true 'GOAT'. He truly is the greatest, and still rips. Seeing him surf in various places (Sebastian Inlet and Soup Bowls) is like watching poetry in motion. Glad someone else appreciates him

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IG: NCGregory8778

Most excellent soundtrack as well

https://open.spotify.com/...HR3ENDR1uklyyBjVcs6Q

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

That is good! Downloaded for tomorrow’s long hours of dealing with kids

Another Matt Damon project: Running The Sahara chronicles an attempt by three ultra marathoners to run across the entire length of the Sahara Desert, from the Atlantic Ocean in Morocco to the Red Sea in Egypt, across six African countries - some VERY unfriendly - planning about 50 miles a day

From here, we get Damon brining water projects to Africa and special Stella Artois glasses as fundraisers

It's also the film that brought Charlie Engle into the public eye, which also landed him in jail [he's done his "Redemption Tour" since, and I'm OK with him]

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Not really a "fire you up" sort of film, but one worth a look at



https://vimeo.com/15271911

***

This is what made me think of it

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

While looking through Peacock this popped up

https://myitaliansecret.com/


I am intrigued

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Not a documentary in ANY sense of the word, but I DO enjoy The Triplets of Belleville at this time of year

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

1. Ken Burns: Baseball
2. Ken Burns: Civil War
3. Riding Giants

The Flying Scotsman. Full film legally on YouTube.
The Flying Scotsman Graeme Obree - YouTube

Film is great, book is about the most emotion warping book ever written. As a self confessed fanboy I have a signed copy of the book, and a framed painting of Obree in view of my zwift rig.

When I get tired, sore or weak in any training or race situation I just think to myself that I have nothing to complain about compared to all the things that Obree did, and that pulls me out of it.

Blocked on YouTube in the U.S.

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Let food be thy medicine...

Ah that's a shame. It's on DVD though if you're over 30, and if under 30 then you'll presumably be able to use some t'interweb wizardry to avoid the geoblock.

While loading Amazon Prime for something for MIL to watch - Downton Abbey kinda shit she likes, involving elaborate costumes, with all the class distinctions, colonial and racial overtones going completely over her head - this popped up




Released in 2018, but I think it was filmed in 2016, as there's a sound-bite early "Hillary will win"

Which makes me sad, because I think some of the people in the film, who claim "We're all one, and we help each other" - which they DID, to extraordinary lengths- could've very easily turned MAGA in the years afterwards

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Short video of some of the training climbs leading up to El Cap. Still blows my mind, your hand cramps, one tiny slip and you’re dead. Might be the ultimate adrenaline rush.

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Let food be thy medicine...

Any Lionel Sanders' hard workout video fires me up. Especially fast run with grin on his face. I wish his videos are longer so I can watch when I do indoor training.

The Thin Blue Line. No legal system is perfect, but the US legal system sometimes seems so broken.

American Flyers

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David T-D
http://www.tilburydavis.com

Love America Flyers.

The documentary to move me the most as of lately has to be It ain't over, the Yogi Berra story. I am also a b ig baseball fan.

The RUN-DMC documentary, Kings Of Queens, on Peacock made me want to break out an adidas track suit & lace-less shell-toes

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Along these lines, the new documentary (2024), You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment on Netflix is fascinating

The John Wick series really got me going, especially during intervals on the bike.

Long Way Round is a very good documentary highlighting friendship, family support, adventure and most importantly the good most humans possess to help a stranger.

The Mongolian man on horseback who was able to come up with a part to fix the cameraman's Russian made bike in the middle of nowhere was incredible.

I haven't seen it in years but it can be streamed with Apple TV. Not available with Prime in the States but might work with a VPN.

Fast & The Furious (1982)

Follows 84 gold medalists Alex Baumann & the late Victor Davis.

Head Above Water on Prime.

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2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)